SFist Julie goes out in Oakland's Laurel District for some smokin' jazz. No, not the Laurel Heights familiar to San Franciscans, with its chain stores and baby strollers, but Oakland's Laurel District, home to personable purveyors of down-home cooking, musical instruments and lessons, locally-penned books, equine supplies, and the recently revived Laurel Lounge. Taken over in April 2006 by a local couple -- who also happen to be neighborhood activists -- the Laurel Lounge......

It's another East Bay/West Bay collision! After months of Sampling Oakland, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (701 Mission St. at 3rd) sets its sights on Berkeley's Kala (rhymes with ta-dah) Art Institute for an exhibition entitled, Cultivating Creativity: In Residence at Kala. Vampiric gesture or reflection of an "ongoing commitment to celebrating local arts organizations," no matter, check out the work of current and past Kala-affiliated artists working in printmaking, digital media, photography......

Welcome to the first post for Bay Area Wanderer, a new SFist feature in which each week we bring you a quick snapshot story from somewhere in the Bay Area. We'll go somewhere, take a picture, and tell you a tale. Simple....

Last week's winner: The East Bay Express. What? No letters about Cody's? Fret not -- there's an article. (We had no idea the reason why there's no books on the shelves there now is because they were behind on their bills!) Also -- neighbors rat out neighbors for loud parties and for opening day-care centers. Cover: Fat acceptance movement (medical, civil rights, artistic, online). Good article, which makes the no fatties cartoon running later in......